Wednesday, January 14, 2015

We can't make buses free, because they will be overcrowded. Wait, what? That is the point! People want public transit, they are willing to pay for it through taxes. They vote with their seat by getting on free buses. So the buses are crowded. So put out more buses. It is what the people want. The government serves the people, right?

Free buses are a disaster for some people. Subsidized autosprawl profiteers. They don't want car welfare to be exposed and ended. Their argument about crowding just proves that fares are for rationing, not revenue.

Friday, January 2, 2015

the age : "Melbourne's new free tram zone delighted passengers on Friday with tourists saying they could see more of the city in one day and locals using the trams to get around quickly in the summer heat.

Tourists from Sydney, Mahnaz Khan and Rana Mohiuddin, decided they would visit Victoria Markets after spotting a map showing they could get there for free from the top of Collins Street.

"We wanted to go to Victoria Markets, but we were not sure if we could because it is a 20-minute walk. But then we saw this, so we are going there now," Ms Khan said. "

Greens' Safe Climate Bill

Travelling with a light footprint
Australia's cities and suburbs are increasingly being built around cars, not people, and more of our intercity travel and freight is going by road or air instead of rail. In a world where peak oil and climate change are converging, this has to change fast.
We have to redesign our cities for people instead of cars, with urban villages connected by fast, efficient and convenient buses, trams and trains, cycleways and pedestrian paths. We have to give ourselves real alternatives to flying between cities. We have to end the subsidies to fossil fuel based transport. We have to think a few steps into the future, instead of repeating the same old mistakes of the past. ReadMore [pdf]